BBC will publish salaries of top stars

In a policy U-turn, chairman of the BBC Trust Sir
Michael Lyons called for greater transparency and said every pound the broadcaster takes from licence fee-payers must be shown to have been spent well.

Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC.

The salaries of millionaire stars working at the BBC will be printed under new plans to ‘recapture public trust’ in the corporation.

‘The pay of presenters and top talent should be published in bands, with the number of people in each band,’ he said.

‘This will significantly increase the degree of transparency in this area.

‘However, I do believe we should release the names of those who receive the biggest incomes from the BBC.

‘You might try to characterise this move as a change of mind,’ he added.

The BBC has been criticised for inflating pay deals.

The corporation famously handed Jonathan Ross £18million over three years, while stars such as Graham Norton and Anne Robinson are on two year deals worth more than £3million.

Ross’s involvement in the Sachsgate scandal, which saw more than 54,000 complain to the BBC, forced the broadcaster to consider how it pays its top stars.

Last month it dropped One Show host Christine Bleakley after she dithered over accepting its £450,000 offer to renew her deal for two years. She has now moved to ITV.